Free Saved and SAINTified by Tiana Laveen

E.L.!”
    Saint and E.L. looked at each other, seeming to be speaking in a secret nonverbal language to one another.
    “Emmanuel Lopez is from New York. Nice to finally have someone here from my stomping grounds!” Saint smiled broadly as he held Mr. Lopez’s gaze with a nod and a smile. “He is from Queens. I lived there for a short stint, too. If any of you see us doing strange handshakes, it’s not gang signs; it’s how we show love.” Several people laughed as Saint continued.
    “Emmanuel is a biophysicist, and is currently engaged. His Empress, Share, is participating in the monthly groups. He will be working with the health and medical team and he and I have had some wonderful, enlightening discussions. We are lucky to have you here man, thank you.” S aint waved to him and waited for him to take his seat before moving on.
    “Lastly, we have Joseph Ahmed. Joseph is from Chicago, Illinois.” The man stood to a fresh round of applause. “Joseph is married to his beautiful Queen, Miranda, and she, as well, was at the dinner last month. Joseph is a licensed psychologist and will be here for everyone, working part time. His office is at the end of the hall and you do need to schedule in advance, but he only needs a twenty-four hour notice. He also has a private practice that you are welcome to attend as well. I really encourage all of you to visit him. We have stressful jobs here. We deal with sensitive information and sometimes, it is beneficial to talk things out and find healthy coping mechanisms.”
    Joseph looked around the room, nodded and took his seat.
    “Okay, now that that is out of the way, let’s discuss the men’s conference in New York in a few months, as well as the one in Tallahassee—they are back to back. I understand that I’m the keynote speaker and it is already being advertised.”
    Several of the officers nodded.
    “Okay, well, as I stated last week, due to the recent influx of emails I’ve received, I’m going to cover a gamut of topics and I feel it is imperative that all new recruits, those of you twelve months or less old with the organization, attend one of the conferences coming up. There will be discussions on the history of racism in this country.” Saint counted his fingers as he made each point. “Black on black interracial attack, meaning, black women who are being attacked by other black women and black men for dating outside of their race. Yeah.” Saint nodded as he watched the men shoot each other perplexed looks. “It’s a strange phenomenon that there are more and more black women complaining about other black women, making their lives difficult, harassing them for dating outside of their race. We need to be aware of this so that we understand what our Queens are going through. It’s not just their moms, close friends and sisters anymore. Now, it’s strangers online, at their workplace and out in public—if they are out with their Rainbeau or mixed-race children—showing proof of the situation, especially. It’s gotten really bad. We will discuss that more later. Moving on.” He took another sip of his water.
    “ Also, I will cover some intimacy topics and I advise everyone attending that is still considered a newbie, to read at least a few of my books before the conference, if you haven’t done so already. It will make some areas I cover a bit more understandable. Now, I’m going to wrap this up and give George the floor, but again, I want to congratulate the four new graduates.” There was another round of applause.
    S aint went over the calendar of events for the following six months, then took his seat as George approached him, shook his hand and stood in front of the podium. George’s hair was pulled back in his signature ponytail and his black, tailor made Alexander Amosu suit fit him like a second skin. George raked his long, knobby finger along the side of podium as he seemed to be reflecting, in deep thought.
    “Good morning, brothers ,” he